Time Of The Month
by Bodge
Summary: It's Shelby's time of the month and she feels awful. Can Rachel convince her that it's okay to take some time out to look after herself or will Shelby just struggle on regardless?


This is a random oneshot idea that came out of nowhere. It's set in an AU where Beth never happened, or someone else adopted her, and Shelby left Carmel to work at McKinley. there may be a second chapter to this, but only if you want to read it, I know it's a bit of a weird thing to write fic about and probably won't be to everyone's taste.

If you haven't already worked it out, this is a fic about a woman being on her period. If that's not your thing or you don't want to read about it, then this one isn't for you!

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"Fuck" Shelby wanted to cry as she saw the blood on the toilet paper. She really didn't need this. Not now, or ever really. She'd been feeling off for a few days now, fearing this was going to happen, she just hoped that things would be better this time.

She opened the cabinet, taking out the supplies she kept 'just in case' fixing a sanitary towel into her underwear, taking the rest of the packet, and a box of tampons, through to her bedroom once she'd finished in the bathroom.

Putting away the pencil skirt and tights she'd laid out the night before, Shelby made sure to dress in dark trousers, throwing a second pair onto her bed along with some clean underwear, thinking for a moment before adding a second change of clothes to the pile of things she now needed to take to work with her.

She knew better than to bother with breakfast, the stabbing pains in her stomach making her well aware that anything she did eat probably wouldn't stay in her stomach for long, so instead she used her coffee to swallow some painkillers before heading out to her car, making a mental note to call her gynecologist during her free period to try and make an emergency appointment.

Shelby couldn't tell you how she made it through the morning but she was relieved that, between frequent trips to the bathroom, she'd been able to set her classes tasks that meant she'd been able to stay seated at her desk. She was still relieved when the lunch bell rang though, looking forward to spending an hour shut away in the sanctuary of her office.

"Ugh" she was curled up the best she could, forehead on her desk, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach when there was a knock at her door. She forced herself to take a deep breath as she sat up straight in her chair, grabbing a pen and an exercise book to make herself look as normal as possible as she called, "come in."

"Hi" even Shelby couldn't hold back a smile as Rachel almost bounced into the room. Things were still awkward between mother and daughter, but since Shelby had taken the job at McKinley, they were working on their relationship and things were starting to get better, "there's a song I'd like to sing in glee" Rachel didn't wait for a response, "the auditorium's free and I wondered if you'd like to run thr…" Rachel finally looked at Shelby, "are you okay?"

Shelby forced a show smile onto her face, "me? I'm fine" she lied, "what's this song then?"

Rachel frowned slightly and held out the music she was clutching, not sure she believed Shelby, the woman was pale, her skin almost grey in colour, and Rachel was sure she could see a thin layer of sweat glistening on her forehead.

"It's a good choice" Shelby nodded after glancing over the music, "I just need to use the bathroom so how about you go grab us both some water and I'll meet you in the auditorium?"

Rachel nodded and took the music back as Shelby held it out to her, "if you'd rather not…"

"No, I'll help you, just give me five minutes and I'll be there." Shelby promised, waiting for Rachel to leave the room before letting her head fall back onto her desk. She didn't want to let Rachel down, but this was the last thing she needed. All she wanted right now was to go home, to collect the prescription painkillers and iron tablets that her gynecologist had prescribed without question, and curl up under the warm water in the bottom of her shower and not move for a week. That wasn't an option though, Rachel was waiting for her and Shelby needed to get a move on. At least it was Friday, she mused as she mentally readied herself to go help Rachel, she could take her painkillers and spend all weekend curled on the couch if she needed to. And she knew she would.

She stood slowly from her chair, wincing slightly as she did, it felt almost like someone was kicking her in the stomach over and over again, the painkillers she'd taken had done nothing to help and she was beginning to feel nauseous from the pain. But there were just three more hours until the end of the school day. She could do it.

She slowly made her way to the staff bathroom, changing her tampon and her pad before making her way to the auditorium where Rachel was already waiting for her, forcing another smile Shelby approached her daughter, "want me to play?" she asked, gesturing to the piano.

Rachel smiled and nodded, "that would be good."

"Okay" Shelby put her bag down by the piano and sat at the bench, slightly relieved to be sitting again, "let me know when you're ready." She spent the next fifteen minutes playing the piano as Rachel sang, giving her daughter tips and advice and trying to lose herself in the music and ignore everything else, but it wasn't to be, and she felt her stomach twist after a particularly painful cramp, "sorry" she managed to mumble as she kicked off her heels and raced off the stage.

Concerned, Rachel followed, opening the door to the girl's changing rooms just in time to see Shelby fall to her knees in one of the toilet cubicles and begin to heave painfully, nothing in her stomach for her to bring up. "You're not okay" she said quietly as she reached for Shelby's hair, holding it back as she retched over the toilet, rubbing her back with her free hand, not sure what she could do to help.

Shelby stayed on the floor for a while, not sure if her retching was causing the painful spasming of her stomach muscles or vice versa. "I… it's nothing" She insisted, pushing herself to her feet and flushing the toilet once she was done, leaning against the cubical wall as she felt the room begin to spin.

Rachel frowned, "this isn't nothing… wait…" Rachel began to put the pieces together in her mind, "are you pregnant?"

"Oh God no" Shelby answered quickly, "I'm, I'm fine" she whispered, cursing as she tried to walk to the sinks, only to find the room lurching around her, Rachel's arms the only thing stopping her hitting the floor.

"You're clearly not" Rachel raised one eyebrow, holding onto Shelby until she was sure she had her balance again.

Shelby sighed, washing her hands and moving to sit on one of the benches in the changing area, "I'm on my period Rachel, it's nothing, I'll be okay in a few days."

Rachel's frown grew, "your… This isn't normal, your period shouldn't make you vomit or, whatever that was back there…" Rachel gestured towards the toilet cubicle.

"It's my normal" Shelby sighed. This wasn't a conversation she ever wanted to have with Rachel but it was obvious that she was waiting for an explanation and Shelby didn't want to lie to her, "I was on top of it, I've got a good doctor and we found a birth control pill that pretty much stopped my periods completely, but then I started getting migraines and apparently that's a bad sign with that type of pill, something about increasing the risk of a stroke, so I had to change my birth control and it obviously hasn't worked as well as I hoped it would. My doctor has already prescribed me stronger painkillers and iron tablets that I can pick up on my way home, and I called and made an appointment for next week to try and sort this out."

Rachel frowned, "iron tablets?"

"I've gotten anaemic in the past, from… y'know" she gestured vaguely to her lap.

"Oh" Rachel whispered, "isn't there anything they can do?"

"A hysterectomy would solve the problems I have, but that comes with its own set of issues, so if I can use birth control to keep things manageable then that would be my first choice."

Rachel nodded, "you shouldn't be here though. Go to the office, tell them you're not well and go home."

"Rachel, I can't go home because I'm on my period."

"No, but you can go home because you've just vomited and almost passed out. I mean it" she said seriously, "if you don't say anything then I will. You need to be at home, you need to be taking care of yourself."

Shelby nodded, "a shower would feel great right now."

"Come on then" Rachel stood and held her hand out to Shelby, "let's go get your shoes then I'll walk you out to the office."

Shelby groaned as she slipped her heels back on, briefly wondering if anyone would notice if she walked through the halls with bare feet before quickly dismissing the idea, she worked with teenagers, of course they'd notice if one of their teachers was barefoot. "I need to get some things from my office before I go."

Rachel nodded and picked up her sheet music, "okay, I'll come with you."

"You don't have to." Shelby clutched at the edge of the piano as she bent to pick up her bag, thanking Rachel when she picked it up instead and handed it over.

"I want to make sure you don't stumble or pass out on the way" Rachel said, holding out her hand to help Shelby down the stairs from the stage, Shelby equally grateful for the help and hating that she needed it at all, "and I'd like to be sure you are actually going to go home" Rachel raised an eyebrow and Shelby was momentarily stunned by how alike she and her daughter were.

They made their way to Shelby's office, Shelby collecting the bag of spare clothes she'd packed that morning and a pile of essays that needed marking over the weekend, rolling her eyes when Rachel insisted on taking the bag from her.

"I'm really sorry" she told the office staff, "but I need to go home, I'm not sure if it's something I've eaten or if I'm coming down with something but I've just been sick in the bathroom."

"I'm sorry to hear that" the receptionist handed Shelby a pen so she could sign herself out, "we'll find cover for your afternoon classes, don't worry about it."

"Thanks" Shelby forced a smile, feeling her stomach twist again as she straightened up, the office staff wishing her well as she made her way out of the office. "I've signed out for the day." Shelby told Rachel as she took her bag from her daughter. "I'm going to go get my prescription from my doctor and then go straight home, I promise."

Rachel nodded, surprising Shelby when she hugged her tightly, "call me if you need anything" she whispered in Shelby's ear before stepping back from the hug.

Shelby smiled and reached out to squeeze Rachel's arm, "I'll call you over the weekend" she promised before slowly walking out of the building, trying to hide just how much pain she was in.

She wasn't sure how she made it both to the pharmacy and then home, she wanted to cry from the pain in her abdomen and she wanted nothing more than to sleep away the weekend, something she knew her painkillers would help her do. She knew from experience that it wouldn't take long for the pills she'd been prescribed to make her drowsy so she temporarily left them on the coffee table and headed for her bathroom.

Her clothes were discarded on the floor as she waited for the water to warm, not sure she had it in her to bend down and pick them up to throw them into the hamper. She cleaned her teeth and pulled her hair back into a messy bun before stepping into the shower, instantly feeling her muscles begin to relax as the warm water rained down on her and she slid down the cool tiles, curling her knees up to her chest, content to just sit under the water for a while.

She didn't move for almost 45 minutes and was certain she'd have stayed there indefinitely had her left calf not began to cramp, so she slowly pulled herself to her feet, stretching slightly before reaching for her shampoo and pulling the band from her hair, deciding that she might as well shower properly while she was in there.

Once she was dressed in clothes infinitely more comfortable than those she'd worn to work, Shelby grabbed her favourite blanket from the closet, dumping it on the sofa before heading into the kitchen to make herself some tea and take the painkillers she'd collected on her way home.

Shelby sighed at the knock on the door a while later, she'd finally got comfortable on the couch and really didn't want to move, the knock had been quiet, so quiet it would be easy for her to pretend she didn't hear it, but curiosity got the better of her and she unwrapped herself from the blanket and went to open the door, "Rachel" she was surprised to see her daughter standing in front of her, "is everything okay?"

Rachel nodded and Shelby suddenly noticed how nervous the girl looked, "I didn't want to disturb you" she said honestly, "but I thought I'd call by and see if you needed anything, and I brought you soup" she held out a bag containing several pots of soup, "I know you're not ill, but I guessed you wouldn't feel up to making anything and after earlier, I thought something easy to digest might be best."

Shelby smiled and took the bag, "that's very thoughtful of you" she smiled, she hadn't eaten all day, and, whilst she knew she probably should, Rachel was right, she couldn't bring herself to make anything, "thank you."

"It's no problem" Rachel smiled, taking in her Mom's appearance, she'd obviously showered since returning home, her damp hair left in its natural curls and pulled back in a messy ponytail, she was dressed in black sweatpants and a white tank top and her face was free of makeup, but what surprised Rachel most were the black framed glasses Shelby wore.

Shelby smiled as she saw Rachel looking at her, "I usually wear contacts" she explained, "but I didn't want to fall asleep wearing them."

"I'm sorry, I didn't… I should go and leave you to try and relax" she smiled, "if you need anything, you can call me, if you want to that is…"

"I've just put a movie on if you want to join me" Shelby offered, "but you should know that I've just taken some very strong painkillers so I'm probably just going to fall asleep on the couch. I can't guarantee I'll be good company."

Rachel smiled, "I'd like that, if you don't mind?"

Shelby shook her head and stepped from the doorway, allowing Rachel into her apartment, "not at all, as long as your fathers aren't waiting on you to get home?"

"They're not home tonight. Some gala dinner at Daddy's work or something, they told me not to expect them back before midnight. As long as I tell them where I'm going if I go out they're okay with me not being home."

Shelby nodded as she made her way back over to the couch, sitting down and curling her knees to her chest, rummaging under the blanket for her warm wheat bag and placing it back against her stomach," so where do they think you are?"

"With you" Rachel shrugged as she moved to sit on the other end of the couch.

"They…" Shelby was surprised, "how did they react to that?"

"They don't mind" Rachel said honestly, "I told them we ran into each other at sectionals, I didn't tell them about the tape but I've told them everything else. They said that, unless I bring it up, then they'll let us work things out between us, they won't interfere."

Shelby nodded, "that, that's good" she could already feel herself getting drowsy.

Rachel smiled as Shelby's eyes briefly fluttered closed before snapping open again, "if you want to sleep, you can" she said, pushing the blanket on the couch towards Shelby, "I won't mind".

Shelby nodded and shuffled into a more comfortable position, slipping off her glasses and placing them on the arm of the couch before pulling the blanket over herself and lifting up the edge, giving Rachel the opportunity to join her. "If I do fall asleep" Shelby knew it was more a case of when, not if, "just help yourself if you get hungry or if you want a drink, or, well, anything, the bathroom is down the hall and..." she shrugged and yawned, "I've got nothing to hide from you. If you need anything just open all the doors or the cupboards until you find it."

"Okay" Rachel nodded as she moved closer to Shelby, "thanks."

Shelby smiled sleepily as she reached for the remote, "Funny Girl okay?"

"Absolutely" Rachel grinned, "you have impeccable taste."

"I know" Shelby winked playfully before hitting play on the remote and starting the movie.


End file.
